


casual

by poalimal



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Misunderstandings, Never Canon Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Pining, Relationship Reveal, ambiguous timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 15:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18875731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poalimal/pseuds/poalimal
Summary: 'Listen, Steve,' said Bucky, 'let's not get your-- feelings all over it, ok?'





	1. Chapter 1

 

'I like the noise you make,' said Bucky, 'when I bite the inside of your thigh.'

Steve blinked awake, and stared at his phone. Recovery looked different in everybody, he reminded himself. Did it look like needing to make dirty phone calls at-- 2.38AM in Bucky? A- _ppar_ -ently.

'Sam?' said Bucky.

Steve sat all the way up in bed. 'You kiss _Sam_ with that filthy mouth?'

'--Aw, Christ.' Bucky sighed. Listlessly, he added: 'It's...not what you think...? Whatever.'

'Wha-- Buck--'

Bucky hung up. Steve went straight to voicemail the next two times he called back.

'Listen, Steve,' said Bucky, the third time, 'let's not get your-- feelings all over it, ok? We're keeping it casual.'

'Casual,' Steve repeated. Bucky was happy in a casual relationship with someone like Sam Wilson? Bull-shit. 'Casual as in... open relationship? No strings, non-exclusive? All of the above?'

'Casual as in "still not any of your business",' said Bucky. 'Also: open relationships require a lot of work - bye.'

'Uh,' Steve said, laughing a little, 'bye.' He hung up, placed his phone on his bedside table, and imagined all the ways he was gonna rib the hell out of Sam for this in the morning.

He rolled over in bed, still laughing to himself, and closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

_I like_  
_the noise_  
_you make_  
_when I_  
_bite_  
_the in_  
_side of_  
_your thigh_.

 

* * *

 

He awoke from his dream with a smile on his face, an hour later than usual; and he genuinely forgot that Sam had no reason to be in bed beside him.

That he had no reason to have anyone beside him.

 

* * *

 

I like, he thought to himself, trying not to stare at Sam's legs, the noise you make--

'Earth to Steve,' Sam was saying. His hand made a clean arc in front of Steve's face. 'Anyone home? What, you not ready for this smoke?' And he walked backwards with his arms stretched out wide.

Steve blinked at him, looking slow up and down his body.

\--when I bite the inside of your thigh, his brain finished.

Did he like being kissed on the inside of his thigh, though? Did he liked being licked there, sucked there? Those were the real questions.

Ah, hell. Sam had paused, and was looking at him now, head tilted. Steve cut his thoughts off mercilessly. 'Sam, the day you beat me at a dead run,' he said, sauntering over with a smile, 'is the day I move to Mars.'

'Well, pack your space boots, cowboy,' Sam said, grinning again, 'cus Imma bout to make your ass a Martian.'

 

* * *

 

'Sam, be honest,' said Steve, barely out of breath, (Sam was doubled over and panting), 'if I moved to Mars, you'd miss me, right?'

'Would I miss...you,' Sam gasped, hands on his knees, 'on my...morning run? Hell no!'

'No, would you miss me in general,' said Steve, leaning in with a grin.

'Oh-oh,' said Sam, already breathing more evenly. Steve stared at him in open admiration. ' _In general_ , why didn't you... say so? In that case - hell no!' Steve burst out laughing. Sam smiled up at him. 'I'm kiddin, I'm kiddin, you know I love you, man.'

'Do you? Do you really love me?' Steve said, grinning more widely. Sam straightened up with a suspicious look. 'Or is this love conditional? Does it come with caveats, with terms of conditions? Does it--'

'Don't even try it,' said Sam, rolling his eyes, 'I'm never making you breakfast again, Rogers. My wallet learned that lesson the hard way last time.'

Steve paused for a moment. Talking about money, he reminded himself, and not having enough wasn't so taboo these days. Well - joking about it wasn't taboo, at least.

'Let me make it up to you, then,' he said, 'you've got the good kitchen, I'll get the groceries... c'mon, let's do breakfast.'

Sam wiped his face with his shirt. Steve flashed his eyes up his stomach, his tattoos, his nipples, his skin. 'Uh, you know you had me waiting a long ass-time, right? It's almost 11.'

'Brunch, then,' said Steve, licking his lips. 'My mimosas are getting a lot better.'  
  
Sam scoffed. 'No, they're really not,' he said, breathing out a long sigh. Did he not like breakfast all of a sudden? 'Ok, sure, that sounds fine. Just promise me you'll cut out this weird aggro flirting thing to show that you're cool with me and Bucky.'

'Oh.' Was that what Steve was doing? Heat flushed up the back of his neck. He squinted a little left of Sam's gaze. Casual, casual, keep it casual. 'Bucky said it was a casual thing...?'

'Yea,' said Sam, moving a little right to catch Steve's eyeline, 'so you really don't need to be so straight about it. I mean, I get it, you're supportive, I'm glad. Really.' He showed his teeth. Steve ducked his gaze. 'But it's not necessary. Ok?'

Steve nodded, smiling a little at his feet. He raised his eyes to Sam's, finally, a little sheepish, a little sad. 'Ok.'

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

The next time Steve was in the Tower at the same time as Bucky, Bucky aimed a running kick at his head.

'Ha,' said Steve, rolling sideways. 'Too slow, punk!' Bucky landed clumsily on the training mats, all fours down, clearly still not used to his cursed ankle healing on a super-slow, regular human timeline. He got up quickly and stood straight over Steve.  
  
'Wait a minute,' said Steve, scrambling up at the expression on Bucky's face, 'were you actually trying to kick me?'

Bucky shot him a blank, somewhat menacing look. 'Gosh, Buck...' Steve swallowed hard, feeling oddly betrayed. '...that was terrible!' He got Bucky quick in the stomach, then dove back, ducking away from the punching bags. 'Seriously - I heard you comin' from a mile away. I fought better than that in the 20's!'

'Oh, shut up, Steve,' Bucky snapped, tossing out three good hits, and two not very good ones. 'I'm trying my best, ok? Cut me some fuckin' slack.'

'Don't half-ass me,' said Steve, sweeping his leg. Bucky flipped backwards and landed crooked, wincing hard. Steve reached out a hand to steady him, but Bucky just sent him a scowl. 'Look, if you won't finish a fight, then don't bother starting one.'

Somehow that made Bucky's lips start twitching. '...As soon as my ankle's healed, then,' he said, 'I owe you a real ass-kicking.'

Steve barked out a laugh. 'Forget it, pal!' he said. 'You couldn't kick my ass if it was the last kickable thing on Earth.'

'Nice one, Rogers.' Bucky was smiling for real now. 'You know, you've got the soul of a poet. And you hide it very well.'

'What can I say, Barnes? You bring it out in me,' Steve joked. Bucky snorted, already eyeing the exits. Jesus, he was clearly planning to scale the walls soon instead of letting their conversation end organically. When was he going to remember about his fucking ankle? 'Now, you wanna tell me why you tried to kick my head off?'

'Oh, that,' Bucky waved his hand carelessly, like it had happened so long ago, 'yea, Sam mentioned your dumb conversation from last week, so I needed to come kick you. But I just remembered you're a sap, and you only know how to do dumb sap shit, so. I forgive you, I guess.' He shrugged. 'Don't be a sneak about it next time, though, ok? I don't think Sam realised you were like, actually trying to flirt with him, cus you're totally suppressed and shut down every part of your attraction if you think the man you're into is straight.'

Steve's mouth was very dry. 'You wouldn't know anything about that, of course.'

Bucky punched him in the arm kindly. Steve winced. 'Course not. You never said nothing, so you didn't really want me to know. Doesn't matter now, anyway - bye.

Ow! Fuck! Rogers, stop standing over there and help me up! Jesus- _fuck_ this fuckin' ankle.'

 

* * *

 

'I told you, I _told_ you if you kept fucking around, you'd have to put back on the boot,' said Sam, when Steve helped walk Bucky through the door. Bucky let Sam stay in his place even when he wasn't there? Yea _right_ it was casual between them. 'I guess I should've specified that roughhousing with another supersoldier falls under the definition of "fucking around".'

'Sorry, Sam,' Steve said sheepishly, 'this was my fault, mostly.'

'Nice try, Steve,' said Sam, 'but I doubt you forced him to take the boot off two weeks early.'

Bucky shrugged Steve off and limped his way to his comfy old couch. Sam grit his teeth and kept digging through a CVS bag for something. 'Shut up, Steve. Sam, I'm not a kid,' he sunk down into the cushions, 'you're not my mom, and it's not really any of your business.'

Sam paused. Looked up slowly. 'None of my business,' he said.

'Uh, so hey,' said Steve, feeling very embarrassed and very out of place, 'I'm probably just gonna go--'

'No, no, someone should stay,' said Sam, going over to the coat rack. 'I'll go. Especially since it appears that getting a few measly orgasms outta this one means I'm not allowed to care when he hurts himself--'

Bucky yawned, looking bored. 'Sure didn't think those orgasms were measly this morning. And don't change the subject--'

'--doing something completely _stupid_ and unnecessary for no reason--'

Bucky's eyes flashed. 'Look, I'm not a fucking kid, Sam! I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions,' he said. 'So don't talk down to me.'

'--I didn't mean that you couldn't,' said Sam. He was still looking at his blue bomber jacket. God, Steve just wanted to hold him, and take away all the tension out of his shoulders. 'I guess I just-- I don't know what I meant. In my head, I guess I'm thinking about--'

Me, Steve thought, looking guiltily down at his shoes. Sam was always on him about being needlessly reckless.

'--uh, Riley,' said Sam, reaching out for his coat. 'Sorry.'

'Oh,' said Steve, without meaning to. He glanced at Bucky's careful expression and immediately realised there was a context here that he didn't understand; that Sam had told something about Riley to Bucky that he hadn't told Steve.

Sam shot him an embarrassed look, then pulled his jacket on quickly. 'Anyway, sorry again. Didn't mean to be-- whatever with you.' He smiled, a bit wry. 'The muscle relaxant is somewhere in that CVS bag if you want it--'

'Hey, hold on--' said Bucky.

'Steve,' said Sam, 'would you mind getting a glass of water?'

'Uh, absolutely,' Steve said, already making his way to the kitchen. 'But you really don't have to go, you know, I'm actually terrible at taking care of Buck--'

'He really is,' Bucky agreed, broadcasting Go Away Now, Steve with his whole body. Well - let it never be said that Steve couldn't take a hint. 'Hold on, Sam - can you come here? You can still go if you want. But let's talk this through first.'

Sam huffed a little under his breath. 'Stop using my techniques against me,' he mumbled, coming over slowly to perch on the very edge of the couch arm.

Steve started filling up multiple mugs with water, the better to give the illusion of privacy. Too bad his superhearing didn't get the memo.

'Aw, you're not so sore as all that, are you? C'mere, sweetheart,' said Bucky, soft. _Sweetheart_. Steve hadn't heard Bucky talk like that since before the war. He started getting all misty-eyed - jeez, he really was a sap. 'Look - I am your business. I'm sorry for saying I'm not. That was a dumb lie. Obviously you're allowed to care. Actually, I'm-- I'm just about crazy about you, so I hope you care about me, too. But don't talk to me like, snide or whatever. I take it the wrong way sometimes. So can you just say what you mean? Please? For this sorry old lughead?'

'I guess I have a hard time with... being honest about how I feel,' said Sam. 'But a habit's just a habit, not an excuse. So I'm sorry for making it seem like... I don't trust you with yourself. Like you can't be trusted, or you're not capable. I know how you hate that. I didn't mean to make you feel any worse.'

'Well, I dunno, sweetheart,' said Bucky, lower now, and warmer, too, 'I feel pretty good right about now. Think I can wring another few measly orgasms out of you?'

'Bu-cky,' said Sam, laughing breathlessly.

'So, um,' said Steve. Sam jumped; Bucky just kept right on kissing Sam's neck. Lousy bastard. 'I'm probably gonna head out now? I told the neighbour's kid I'd help walk her dogs.' It was normally true, and really only half a lie now: the Washingtons were actually on vacation this week, and they'd taken their dogs with them. But their plants needed a good watering. Probably.

'Oh,' said Sam, scooting away from Bucky, 'ok. Yea, would you mind giving me a ride to the office, actually? Even just to the station is fine, I need to drop something off to Gabi.'

'Oh, nothing doing, pal,' Bucky said, glaring at Steve. His eyes flicked back to Sam. 'I ain't done with you yet, Wilson.'

They exchanged a private look.

Steve dredged up a smile from the pit of his stomach. 'I can drop it off for you, Sam,' he said. 'You know Gabi likes me.'

'Really?' said Sam, standing up. Bucky tugged on his arm and made a frustrated growl. 'Just a sec, Bucky.' Buck let his head fall back against the couch with a sultry little scowl. 'You sure, Steve? Laila won't mind?'

Steve waved his hand a little. 'Eh. Those dogs aren't going anywhere,' he said, 100% honest.

'Well, thanks, man, I owe you one,' said Sam, 'hold on, I think I left it-- uh, back here--' And he hurried down the hall, into either the bathroom or-- yup, Bucky's bedroom.

'Relationships require a lot of work, Stevie,' Bucky said, low. 'Can't run away forever.'

Steve ducked his head. 'Maybe not forever,' he conceded. 'Maybe just-- another day or two.'

'Eh, I'll give you three,' said Bucky, shrugging. 'I mean, what do you have to lose?'

Sam came back down the hall with a red-weld in his arms, the smile on his face striking Steve straight in the chest. 'Found it!' he said, triumphant.

'Great,' Steve croaked out. What, indeed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endgame's ending for Steve really bothered me, so writing this was actually quite cathartic, cus it helped me remember how uninterested I am in writing Steve. Guess he's a character I can only read. 
> 
> Anyway - some notes:
> 
> I. Steve swears up and down the proper phrase should be _terms of conditions_ , not _terms and conditions_ ('They explain the terms of the conditions! It just makes sense!')  
> II. 'The boot', in this context, is a thing you have to wear on your foot or ankle to help the healing process after a sprain or break  
> III. A red-weld is actually short for some brand name, but is generally used in casual convo to refer to a rust-coloured accordion-adjacent folder. I suspect it might get more use in the legal field?  
> IV. Steve has a car, and Sam mentions 'the station', so we're pretending Avengers Tower is in D.C. now, thanks  
> V. That fight was annoying to write lol, I don't want to talk about it


End file.
